Typographical composing and casting machine



Dec. 16, 1958 L. ROSSETTO 2,364,490

TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 50, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE .VTO R.

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Dec. 16, 1958 1.. RossETTo v 2,864,490

TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 50, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :fi; P 1? Q i 4'- Ii 9 a:

INVENTOR.

United States Patent C) TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINE Louis Rossetto, Kings Point, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Application December 30, 1955, Serial No. 556,656

18 Claims. (Cl. 199-51) This invention relates to typographical composing and casting machines, wherein matrices together with spacebands are assembled in line and the composed line presented to a mold for the casting of a type bar or slug; and wherein prior to the casting operation, the spacebands are expanded by a vertically movable horizontal bar to effect justification of the composed line between a pair of clamping jaws. Ordinarily, the composed lines contain a varying number of spacebands according to the number of words in a line and the overall length of the line, but the power imparted by a spring to the justification bar is consistently the same. Consequently, the force which is applied individually to the spacebands in relatively long lines is very much reduced when there happens to be a large number of spacebands in the composed line, and occasionally it is not sufficient to properly effect the justification thereof. On the other hand, when the same justifying force is applied to comparatively few bands in lines of a shorter length, they may be and occasionally are bent out of shape or otherwise damaged.

The present invention is intended to obviate the above difiiculties by the use of a hydraulically operated justi fication bar controlled by a series of solenoid valves arranged in the hydraulic system and which are electronically selected, one after another, by the individual spacebands in a composed line as the latter is being advanced through the line delivery channel and is about to enter the first elevator preparatory to its descent to the slug casting position. In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the solenoid valves are arranged in two superimposed groups and those in each group are each provided with a solenoid that may be automatically energized by the intermittent advance of a stepping switch so as to set the valves successively in their open position. To be more explicit, when an electrical circuit is closed momentarily by a spaceband in the manner above stated and under the influence of the usual line delivery slide, the band in turn is adapted to actuate a control switch which will close a circuit through an electron tube and suitable intermediate electrical equipment for causing an incremental advance of the stepping switch.

Also, the opening of each solenoid valve allows the hydraulic fiuid to pass through or by-pass a pressure reduction valve which in turn is set so as to regulate the pressure of the fluid demanded and according to the number of spacebands in a composed line. The fluid then is directed by suitable piping to a four-way cam actuated valve and, thence through two separate pipe connections, to the upper and lower ends of a cylinder that houses a vertically disposed piston which is operatively connected to the regular horizontal justification bar.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagram of the electrical equipment including the control switch and its operative relation to a spaceband as the latter is advanced by the line delivery "ice slide from the assembling elevator through the intervening channel and thence into the first elevator;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing a portion of the Linotype assembling and line delivery mechanism which include the horizontal slide, line delivery channel and the assembling elevator;

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hydraulic equipment for operating the justification bar and the intervening cam controlled valve associated with the equipment;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing, on an enlarged scale, the cam actuated justification control valve of the hydraulic system in its neutral position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 4 but showing said valve in the position it will occupy to permit the first justifying operation;

Fig. 6 likewise is a vertical section similar to Fig. 4 but showing the valve in the position it is caused to occupy preparatory to the second justifying operation; and

Fig. 7 is also a vertical section similar to Fig. 4 but showing the control valve in the position it will occupy to permit the second justifying operation.

After the matrices X and spacebands Y are composed in the assembling elevator 3 under the influence of a constantly rotating star wheel (indicated in Fig. 2), the elevator is raised to position the composed line between a pair of fingers 4 depending from a horizontally disposed, spring-actuated slide 4 which thereupon is automatically released to deliver the line through an intervening channel 5 and into the vertically movable first elevator or line transporter 6. Meanwhile, however, the longer depending members of the spacebands Y in the composed line are adapted individually, according to the present invention, to close momentarily an electric supply switch 7 located adjacent the discharge end of the line delivery channel 5 and which, as best shown in Fig. l, is secured to the rear side wall thereof. As a result, and through the medium of a Thyratron tube or amplifier 8 and its associated relay 8 a circuit will be closed to a second relay 9 for effecting an incremental advance of a stepping switch 10 whereby the number of spacebands in a composed line, irrespective of its length, may be counted and registered and the driving force imparted to the bands by the upward thrust of a justification bar 11 (Fig. 3) determined accordingly. To be more explicit, and as clearly indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1, the relay 8 is located in the plate circuit of the thyratron tube 8 but the latter, in the present instance, normally does not conduct until a grid circuit is momentarily closed by a traveling spaceband as it passes a sensing probe 7 of the electric supply switch 7. At such time, the relay 9 will be energized so as to cause a one step advance of the switch 10 by an intermediate properly arranged ratchet device 12. Also when the line delivery slide 4 approaches the end of its travel, it is adapted to close a switch 13 (indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l) in order to energize a relay 14 which in turn locks itself in through the medium of a normally closed switch 15 so that power may be transmitted electronically to the stepping switch 10 and thence to a valve selecting solenoid of the hydraulic system presently to be described.

After a line has been justified in the manner already indicated and the slug is cast, the first elevator 6 starts its upward movement to carry the composed line to the upper transfer level. At this time, the normally closed switch 15 will be opened to deenergize the relay 14 as well as the solenoids for certain selected valves in the hydraulic system. Then, and as the first elevator continues to rise, a normally open switch 16 will be closed to energize a relay 17 which in turn will be locked-in through an off home contact (not shown) on stepping switch and is adapted to permit the latter to return to its zero or home position where the relay 17 is automatically deenergized. The system then is ready for the next composed line of matrices and spacebands. In the event of a quadding or a centering operation, relays 18 and 19 may be employed and are adapted, if energized, to open or break a circuit established by the stepping switch 10 on the off home contact, and thus bring about the results above stated.

The hydraulic system employed for operating the vertically movable justification bar 11 includes an appropriate number of selective control valves 20 which, as shown more or less diagrammatically in Fig. 3, are arranged side-by-side in two superimposed groups and are each operable by a solenoid 21 that in turn is controlled by the thyratron tube 8 and its associated relay 8 through the medium of the stepping switch 10. Each valve 20 is mounted for a limited vertical movement in a cylindrical casing 22 arranged directly above the associated solenoid 21 and to which it is operatively connected. The casing 22 is appropriately tapped for separate branch piping 23 and 24, the former leading to a main fluid supply line 25 from a reservoir 26 containing the hydraulic fluid, and the latter through a discharge pipe line 27 leading to a relatively large four-way power-operated valve 28, which in turn communicates through separate piping 29 and 30 with a hydraulic cylinder 31 arranged directly below the justification bar 11. An appropriate hydraulic pump 32, disposed above the reservoir 26 in the fluid supply line 25, serves to direct the fluid under pressure throughout the hydraulic system; and a maximum or over pressure valve 33 arranged between the pump and the reservoir is adapted to allow a direct recirculation of the fluid when all of the hydraulic control valves 20 are closed. Adjustable pressure regulating valves 34 (Fig. 3) are also provided and they are disposed respectively below the solenoid valves 20 so as to establish appropriate connections between the vertical fluid supply pipe sections 24 and horizontal piping 35 leading back to the reservoir 26.

When a solenoid valve 20 is opened through an incremental advance of the stepping switch 10, the hydraulic fluid under pressure from the supply line 25 is adapted to unseat a check valve 36 in the pipe 24 in order to permit passage of the fluid into the horizontal discharge line 27. The valves 36, however, are held normally closed under tension of compression springs 37 and thus serve primarily to prevent a backward flow of the fluid through the pressure regulating valves 34 other than those selected. As a result, a circulation of the hydraulic fluid through a branch 27 of the fluid supply line 27 may be directed by the piping 29 and 30 into the cylinder 31 to effect the operation of the justification bar 11 through the medium of a piston 38 arranged in the cylinder and which is appropriately connected to said bar. Also, and to properly time the operation of the bar 11 during each machine cycle of operation, the endwise reciprocal movements of the four-way valve 28 to and from its different adjusted positions within its casing 28 is preferably controlled by a constantly rotating cam 39 through the medium of a vertically disposed rocking lever 40, the latter (Fig. 3) being operatively connected at its upper end to the protruding stem portion of said valve and provided at its lower end with an anti-friction roller 41 which is held normally engaged with said cam under the tension of a spring 42. The cam 39 is mounted on the main shaft of the machine and appropriately presents two diametrically opposed concentric portions 39 and 39 adapted, during each revolution of said shaft, to locate the hydraulic valve 28 in its neutral position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, while the two intervening low portions 39 and 39 of the cam permit a shifting of said valve in one direction to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 7 for the first and second justification operations. Also, and subsequent to the latter operations, the valve 28 is shifted by a higher portion 39 of the cam 39 in the opposite direction to the position shown in Fig. 6 where it permits the return of the justification bar 11 to its normal or neutral position. Incidentally, the fluid that enters the casing of the four-way valve 28 from the supply line 27 as well as from the two pipe lines 29 and 30 is directed, according to the horizontal position of said valve (Figs. 4 to 7), into a duct 28 at the bottom of the valve casing and then discharged into a contiguous branch section of a horizontally disposed pipe line 43 that leads back to the reservoir 26.

It should now be clear that the circuits established by each spaceband in a composed line, as they successively engage the sensing probe of the switch 7, are adapted to cause a corresponding incremental advance of the stepping switch 10, which in turn will cause the energization of a like number of the rotary solenoids 21 in the hydraulic system. The valves 20 controlled by these particular solenoids are thus opened automatically, one after another, so that the hydraulic fluid from the supply line 25 may be directed to the four-way cam-actuated valve 28 and thence into the cylinder 31 at a point below the piston 38. As a result, the justification bar 11 attached to the upper end of the piston rod is forced upwardly under a pressure determined by the number of hydraulic valves opened to perform the first justification operation and then lowered momentarily as the hydraulic fluid, under automatic adjustment of the valve 28, is redirected into the cylinder 31 at a point above the piston 38. In performing the second justification operation, the valve 28 is readjusted automatically by means of its control cam 39 to the same position it occupied to bring about the first justification operation in the manner above stated. Figs. 4 to 7 show the valve 28 in its various positions during the different stages of operation of the hydraulic system.

It is pointed out that the adjustable mechanism for varying the force applied to the justification bar according to the number of spacebands in the composed line is controlled in its adjustment as the line is transferred from the intermediate channel into the first elevator. This permits the composition of one line after another in the regular way and without any interruption between lines. If the adjustment of the force applying mechanism were effected by the spacebands as they are released from their storage magazine and delivered into the assembling elevator, as has heretofore been proposed (see Brandenburg U. S. Patent 2,190,112), the operator would be required to wait until the line had been completely composed and then delivered into the first elevator before starting the composition of the next line. This would not only slow down composition when the machine is operated manually but, moreover, would render the machine practically incapable of automatic operation under control of a perforated tape.

What is claimed is:

1. In a typographical composing and casting machine wherein matrices and spacebands are composed in line and then transferred to the casting station, the combination of means for justifying the composed line prior to casting, adjustable mechanism controlled by the number of spacebands in the composed line for varying the force applied to the justifying means, and means for effecting such adjustment of the force varying mechanism after the line has been fully composed, said means being actuated by the successive spacebands in the precomposed line during its transfer to the casting station.

2. In a typographical composing and casting machine wherein matrices and spacebands are composed in line in an assembling elevator and then transferred through an intermediate channel into a first elevator which presents the line to the casting station, the combination of a justification bar which drives the spacebands upward through the line for justification after the line has been presented to the slug casting station, adjustable mechanism controlled by the number of spacebands in the composed line for varying the driving force applied to the justification bar, and means for effecting such adjustment of the force varying mechanism after the line has been fully composed, said means being actuated by the successive spacebands in the precomposed line during its transfer from the intermediate channel into the first elevator.

3. A combination according to claim 2, wherein the adjustable force varying mechanism includes a cylinder and piston device connected to and operating the justification bar, and a plurality of fluid control valves, one for each spaceband in the precomposed line, through which the fluid flows to the cylinder and piston device.

4. In a typographical composing and casting machine wherein matrices and spacebands are composed in line in an assembling elevator and then transferred through an intermediate channel into a first elevator which presents the line to the casting station, the combination of a justification bar which drives the spacebands upward through the line for justification after the line has been presented to the slug casting station, adjustable mechanism controlled by the number of spacebands in the composed line for varying the driving force applied to the justification bar, said force varying mechanism being hydraulic and comprising a closed liquid circulating system which includes a liquid reservoir, a continuously operated pump for continously circulating the liquid through the system, and a cylinder and piston device connected to and operating the justification bar, and means for eflecting such adjustment of the force varying mechanism, said means being activated by the transfer of the composed line as it is transferred from the intermediate channel into the first elevator, and said force varying mechanism including a plurality of control valves, one for each spaceband in the composed line, through which the liquid flows to the cylinder and piston device.

5. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the closed liquid circulating system includes an adjustable timing valve which controls the flow of liquid to and from the cylinder and piston device.

6. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the closed liquid circulating system includes a by-pass to the pressure side of the pump for the continuous circulation of liquid through the reservoir when the control valves are closed. 9

7. A combination according to claim 2, wherein the means for effecting the adjustment of the force varying mechanism includes an electric circuit, and a switch arranged to be actuated by the spacebands in the composed line, one after another, as the line is transferred from the intermediate channel into the first elevator.

8. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the means for effecting the adjustment of the force varying mechanism includes an electric circuit, a switch arranged to be actuated by the spacebands in the composed line, one after another, as the line is transferred from the intermediate channel into the first elevator, a stepping switch operated step-by-step under control of the spaceband switch, and solenoids energized by the stepping switch and controlling the operation of the control valves of the hydraulic system.

9. In a typographical composing and casting machine equipped with a vertically movable first elevator, a horizontally disposed intermediate channel communicating therewith and a reciprocable slide operable to deliver a precomposed line of matrices and spacebands through said channel and into the elevator preparatory to its descent to the slug casting position, the combination of an amplifier tube and a circuit closing control switch therefor, said switch being located adjacent the intermediate channel and operable by the individual spacebands in a precomposed line during the line delivery operation.

10. A combination according to claim 9, including a hydraulic system having rotary solenoids to control the 6 circulation of the liquid, and a stepping switch arranged in a circuit established by the amplifier tube and adapted also during the line delivery operation to energize the rotary solenoids of the hydraulic system one after another according to the member of spacebands in a composed line.

11. A combination according to claim 9, wherein the control switch for the amplifier tube is provided with a sensing probe operable by the individual spacebands in a composed line as the latter is about to enter the first elevator during the line delivery operation.

12. A combination according to claim 10, wherein the hydraulic system includes a series of fluid control valves and wherein the rotary solenoids individually are operatively connected to the stern portions of said fluid control valves.

13. In a typographical composing and casting machine of the Linotype class, the combination of a normally non-conducting amplifier tube and a sensing probe therefor mechanically located so as to be grounded by the individual spacebands in a composed line as it is about to enter the first elevator, a hydraulic system presenting a series of valves, an electrical means controlled by the amplifier tube through the medium of its probe for selecting the hydraulic valves one after another for automatically determining the driving force to be imparted to the spacebands when the line is justified.

14. In or for a typographical composing and casting machine equipped with a vertically movable first elevator and a horizontally disposed intermediate channel communicating therewith, the combination of an electrical system including a series of solenoids, a hydraulic system presenting a series of valves operable sequentially and each controlled by an individual solenoid of the electrical system, and a sensing probe for energizing the solenoids one after another according to the number of spacebands in a precomposed line, said sensing probe being located adjacent the intermediate channel in position to be actuated by the successive spacebands in the precomposed line as it is being delivered from said channel into the first elevator.

15. A combination according to claim 14, wherein the hydraulic system includes a vertically reciprocable justification bar, a cylinder and piston device connected to said bar, and a four-way reciprocable slide valve for directing the fluid alternately through separate pipe lines into the cylinder at points below and above the piston during each machine cycle of operation.

16. In or for a typographical composing and casting machine, a hydraulic system presenting a series of electrically controlled hydraulic valves selectable automatically one after another according to the number of spacebands in a composed line, a pump, a reservoir, main fluid supply and return lines to permit a normal circulation of the fluid throughout the system when one or more of said valves are opened, and a single over pressure valve arranged between the reservoir and said fluid supply line for re-directing the fluid from the pump directly back into the reservoir when all of the electrically controlled valves are closed.

17. The hydraulic system according to claim 16, including an auxiliary fluid supply line, vertically disposed lines leading respectively from the electrically controlled valves to the auxiliary line, and intermediate normally closed check valves adapted to prevent a reverse flow of fluid through said vertical lines to all electrically controlled valves unselected.

18. A combination according to claim 17, including pressure regulating valve arranged in a branch of each vertically disposed line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,190,112 Brandenburg Feb. 13, 1940 

